📍
Redmond, WA

Research Scientist Intern, Optical System Design (PhD)

Internship
Technology & Digital
Software engineering
$7,313 - $12,134 / Month
Posted:
January 28, 2026

Meta

Social network and technology platform
71.8
Palpable Score
Apply >view company >

Meta Reality Labs brings together a world-class team of researchers, developers, and engineers to create the future of virtual and augmented reality, which together will become as universal and essential as smartphones and personal computers are today. And just as personal computers have done over the past 45 years, AR and VR will ultimately change everything about how we work, play, and connect. We are developing all the technologies needed to enable breakthrough AR glasses and VR headsets, including optics and displays, computer vision, audio, graphics, brain-computer interface, haptic interaction, eye/hand/face/body tracking, perception science, and true telepresence. Some of those will advance much faster than others, but they all need to happen to enable AR and VR that are so compelling that they become an integral part of our lives.

Our internships are twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) weeks long and we have various start dates throughout the year.

Research Scientist Intern, Optical System Design (PhD) Responsibilities

Minimum Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

About the company

Meta

Company overview
Meta builds consumer apps and platforms used by billions of people, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads. Meta makes most revenue from advertising across these products, and the company also runs Reality Labs for AR and VR hardware and software. Meta also invests heavily in AI research and product development across the company’s apps and infrastructure.

Locations and presence

Meta is headquartered in Menlo Park, California and hires across major hubs in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Work setup is generally hybrid for many corporate roles, with multi-day office expectations, and Instagram announced a five-day in-office requirement for desk-assigned U.S. staff starting February 2, 2026.

Palpable Score

71.8
/ 100
Meta offers multiple credible early-career doors, including internships, “University Grad” roles, and rotational programs that are explicitly positioned as immersive learning experiences. Pay signals look competitive and often transparent via published ranges and widely reported intern and new-grad compensation, but early-career predictability is reduced by mixed candidate experiences and widely reported workforce churn in parts of the business.
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